Methods and apparatus for transferring a material onto a substrate using a resonant infrared pulsed laser

Abstract

A method for transferring a material onto a substrate. In one embodiment, the method includes the steps of directing a coherent light of a wavelength resonant with a vibrational mode of the material at the material to vaporize the material, depositing the vaporized material on the substrate in a form that is essentially same chemically as the material, and selectively heating the deposited material at one or more positions of the substrate to form a film thereon.

1 . A method for transferring a material onto a substrate, comprising the steps of:
 a. directing a coherent light of a wavelength resonant with a vibrational mode of the material at the material to vaporize the material;   b. depositing the vaporized material on the substrate in a form that is essentially same chemically as the material; and   c. selectively heating the deposited material at one or more positions of the substrate to form a film thereon.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the material comprises one of organic, inorganic, biological materials and mixtures thereof. 
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the material comprises a polymeric material. 
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the polymeric material comprises a thermosetting polymer. 
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the thermosetting polymer comprises polyimide. 
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the polymeric material comprises a thermoplastic polymer. 
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the thermoplastic polymer comprises one of polyethylene glycol (PEG), polystyrene, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and mixtures thereof. 
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the polymeric material comprises a polymer precursor solution. 
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the polymer precursor solution comprises a concentration of pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA) and 4,4′ oxidianiline (ODA) dissolved in N-methylpyrrolidinone (NMP). 
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the thickness of the film is in a range of a single molecular size to microns, preferably, in a range of about 10 angstroms to 1 μm. 
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the vibrational mode of the material is in a range of about 0.1 μm to 10,000 μm. 
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the vibrational mode of the material is in the infrared region of about 1 μm to 15 μm, preferably at about 3.45 μm. 
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the resonant wavelength of the coherent light is determinable from an absorption spectrum of the material. 
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the coherent light comprises pulses of infrared laser with a fluency in a range of about 0.1 to 10 J/cm 2 . 
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the pulses of infrared laser have a pulse duration in a range of about 100 fs to 5 ps and a pulse repetition frequency in a range of about 1 MHz to 3 GHz. 
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the pulses of infrared laser are delivered in the form of a pulse train in a burst of a micropulse mode lasting microseconds to milliseconds. 
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the pulses of infrared laser are delivered in the form of a pulse train on a continuous basis. 
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 13 , where the coherent light comprises an infrared laser of a continuous wave mode. 
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the selectively heating step is performed through a laser light absorption. 
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the selectively heating step is performed resistively and electrically. 
   
   
       21 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the selectively heating step comprises the step of heating the deposited material according to a predetermined pattern. 
   
   
       22 . A film made according to the method of  claim 1 . 
   
   
       23 . A method for transferring a material onto a substrate, wherein the substrate is formed such that the material is unable to wet it, comprising the steps of:
 a. directing a coherent light of a wavelength resonant with a vibrational mode of the material at the material to vaporize the material;   b. depositing the vaporized material on the substrate in a form that is essentially same chemically as the polymeric material; and   c. heating the deposited material through the substantially entire surface of the substrate in contact with the deposited material to form a plurality of nanoscale grains of the material thereon.   
   
   
       24 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the material comprises one of organic, inorganic, biological materials and mixtures thereof. 
   
   
       25 . A plurality of nanoscale grains of an organic and/or polymeric material made according to the method of  claim 23 . 
   
   
       26 . An apparatus for transferring a material onto a substrate, comprising:
 a. a coherent light source of a wavelength resonant with a vibrational mode of the material, wherein the resonant wavelength is determinable from an absorption spectrum of the material;   b. means for directing the coherent light at the polymeric material to vaporize the material;   c. means for depositing the vaporized material on the substrate in a form that is essentially same chemically as the material; and   d. means for selectively heating the deposited material on the substrate.   
   
   
       27 . The apparatus of  claim 26 , wherein the material comprises one of organic, inorganic, biological materials and mixtures thereof. 
   
   
       28 . The apparatus of  claim 27 , wherein the material comprises a polymeric material. 
   
   
       29 . The apparatus of  claim 26 , wherein the vibrational mode of the material is in a range of about 0.1 μm to 10,000 μm. 
   
   
       30 . The apparatus of  claim 29 , wherein the vibrational mode of the material is in the infrared region of about 1 μm to 15 μm, preferably at about 3.45 μm. 
   
   
       31 . The apparatus of  claim 26 , wherein the coherent light source comprises an infrared laser. 
   
   
       32 . The apparatus of  claim 31 , wherein the infrared laser is capable of emitting pulses of coherent light with a fluency in a range of about 0.1 to 10 J/cm 2 . 
   
   
       33 . The apparatus of  claim 32 , wherein the pulses of coherent light have a pulse duration in a range of about 100 fs to 5 ps at a pulse repetition frequency in a range of about 1 MHz to 3 GHz. 
   
   
       34 . The apparatus of  claim 32 , wherein the infrared laser is configured such that the pulses of coherent light are delivered in the form of a pulse train in a burst of a micropulse mode lasting microseconds to milliseconds. 
   
   
       35 . The apparatus of  claim 32 , wherein the infrared laser is configured such that the pulses of coherent light are delivered in the form of a pulse train on a continuous basis. 
   
   
       36 . The apparatus of  claim 31 , where the infrared laser is capable of emitting coherent light of a continuous wave mode. 
   
   
       37 . The apparatus of  claim 31 , where the infrared laser comprises a free electron laser, a CO 2  laser, an OPO laser, a N 2  laser, or an Er:YAG laser. 
   
   
       38 . The apparatus of  claim 26 , wherein the selectively heating means comprises a laser capable of delivering a radiation according to a predetermined pattern. 
   
   
       39 . The apparatus of  claim 26 , wherein the selectively heating means comprises one or more electrical resistors. 
   
   
       40 . The apparatus of  claim 39 , wherein the one or more electrical resistors are adapted for heating the deposited material according to a predetermined pattern. 
   
   
       41 . The apparatus of  claim 26 , wherein the selectively heating means is capable of heating the deposited material at one or more positions of the substrate to form a film thereon. 
   
   
       42 . The apparatus of  claim 41 , wherein the thickness of the film is in a range of a single molecular size to microns, preferably, in a range of about 10 angstroms to 1 μm. 
   
   
       43 . The apparatus of  claim 26 , wherein the substrate is formed such that the material is unable to wet it, and wherein the selectively heating means is capable of heating the deposited material through the substantially entire surface of the substrate in contact with the deposited material to form a plurality of nanoscale grains of the material thereon. 
   
   
       44 . The apparatus of  claim 26 , wherein the selectively heating means is capable of heating the substrate upon which the material is deposited. 
   
   
       45 . A method for transferring a starting material onto a substrate, comprising the steps of:
 a. vaporizing a starting material;   b. depositing the vaporized material on the substrate; and   c. curing the deposited material on the substrate by cross linking to turn it into a material that is different from the starting material on the substrate.   
   
   
       46 . The method of  claim 45 , wherein the vaporizing steps is performed with coherent light of an infrared wavelength resonant with a vibrational mode of the starting material. 
   
   
       47 . The method of  claim 46 , wherein the resonant wavelength is determinable from an infrared absorption spectrum of the starting material. 
   
   
       48 . The method of  claim 45 , wherein the starting material comprises a precursor solution. 
   
   
       49 . The method of  claim 48 , wherein the precursor solution comprises a polyamic acid precursor. 
   
   
       50 . The method of  claim 49 , wherein the material comprises polyimide. 
   
   
       51 . The method of  claim 48 , wherein the precursor solution comprises a resonant absorbing material characterized in that an ablation process is substantially slow and low-temperature. 
   
   
       52 . The method of  claim 51 , wherein the resonant absorbing material comprises a solvent N-methylpyrrolidinone (NMP). 
   
   
       53 . The method of  claim 48 , wherein the precursor solution comprises a concentration of pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA) and 4,4′ oxidianiline (ODA) dissolved in N-methylpyrrolidinone (NMP) 
   
   
       54 . The method of  claim 45 , wherein the curing step is performed through a laser light absorption. 
   
   
       55 . The method of  claim 45 , wherein the curing step is performed resistively and electrically. 
   
   
       56 . The method of  claim 45 , wherein the curing step comprises the step of selectively heating the deposited material at one or more positions of the substrate.